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 If the Dallas Mavericks needed a reminder, they got one Monday
night.
Behind a season-high 31 points from power forward Dirk Nowitzki, the
Mavericks blew a big lead before edging the Boston Celtics 118-113
in overtime at American Airlines Center.
"We had to grind this one out," said Nowitzki, who scored 21 points
after the third quarter to match his best offensive output this
season.
"They're a deep team, they're a tough team, they're talented and
they made it hard on us all night. They kept coming even though we
started off hot."
The Mavericks (24-19) responded to their worst loss of the season
Sunday at San Antonio by extending their winning streak against
Boston to seven. Dallas has won 11 of the past 12 in the series.
The victory also concluded a challenging five-game stretch that saw
the Mavericks go 2-3.
"It's a great win for us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It
salvages our week to some degree because it was such a hard week
schedule-wise."
Boston, down as many as 17 points, were up as many as six points in
the fourth quarter.
Despite having a shot to win, the Celtics (22-20) had their
three-game winning streak snapped.
"We just chipped away," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "I don't
think it was anything that happened quickly by any means, but I
thought the guys really competed after eight minutes or so at a
high, high level, and we just got off to a bad start. And we were
playing uphill but had our chances anyways but weren't able to take
advantage of it."
The Mavs were in position to put it away in regulation. Nowitzki's
four-point play with 1:27 to go -- he was fouled by reserve center
Kelly Olynyk while nailing a 3-pointer -- left Dallas up 94-89.
The Mavs were still leading 98-95 before Boston small forward Jae
Crowder was hit on the arm by Dallas guard Raymond Felton with 6.7
seconds remaining while attempting a 3-point shot. Crowder (12
points) hit all three free throws to force overtime.
Dallas found its 3-point stroke in the extra session, hitting four
from deep to pull away. Small forward Chandler Parsons started the
barrage with a 3-pointer before point guard Deron Williams sank two.
Nowitzki hit the dagger from the corner with 35.4 seconds left for a
112-105 lead.
"It was big," Carlisle said. "Deron Williams was huge tonight really
throughout the game, but none bigger in overtime. Dirk hit a huge 3
from the left corner."
Nowitzki missed nine of 12 shots from the floor through three
quarters, but he was 6-for-9 thereafter. He made 12 of 13 free
throws overall and grabbed 11 rebounds.
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Williams finished with 20 points and six assists. Parsons scored 16,
shooting guard Wesley Matthews scored 15, and Felton had 14 points
off the bench.
Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (20 points) led the second-half
charge, but the Boston bench came up big as well.
Reserve shooting guard Marcus Smart, a native of Dallas suburb
Flower Mound, had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Guard Avery Bradley
scored 19 points, and Olynyk knocked down five 3-pointers en route
to 17 points.
The Mavericks threatened to run away with the game in the first
quarter, racing out to a 17-2 lead behind Matthews, who scored 11 in
the period.
Boston missed 15 of its first 16 shots, forcing Stevens to turn to
his backups. The reserves came through, with Smart helping the
Celtics close the gap.
The Celtics carried that momentum into the second half and took
their first lead. A 15-3 run early in the third quarter set the
stage, and Boston went into the fourth up 72-70.
"It's real tough when you're down 15 to start," Olynyk said. "Giving
someone a 15-point cushion in this league, it's not easy to come
back from that. We had a good run and made it close, then we made a
few mistakes in the end there that we could have shored up. We had
the opportunity."
The Mavericks are back home Wednesday to play the Minnesota
Timberwolves, while Boston plays the Raptors in Toronto the same
night.
NOTES: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has no regrets about including F
Jae Crowder in the trade to Boston last season for PG Rajon Rondo.
Crowder has blossomed with the Celtics. "With the circumstances
there, he's going to get more minutes," Cuban said. "He's getting a
better opportunity than he would have here." Crowder was back in
Dallas for the first time since that blockbuster deal on Dec. 18,
2014. "He's gotten better virtually every game," Mavs coach Rick
Carlisle said. "This is no surprise for us. We loved him here."...
Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki came in averaging 25.9 points against Boston,
his highest average against any NBA team.
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